Are You a Purpose First Entrepreneur?

Pete Wilkins, Author, Purpose First Entrepreneur, Managing Director, HPA

Purpose First Entrepreneurs have an intrinsic belief that their businesses can change the world. Their purpose-driven perspective infuses their entire being. You can see it in what they believe, what they say, what they do, and how they build their businesses. Bringing their purpose into the world is embedded in their minds, hearts, and souls—it is fundamental to who they are. 

In fact, based on my research and experience, the most important variable in determining the success of individuals and businesses is, well, purpose. In my book, Purpose First Entrepreneur, I walk readers step-by-step through discovering their purpose, turning that purpose into a thriving business, and harnessing that purpose to perform at an elite level in all aspects of their lives. On November 3, 2021, I had the incredible opportunity to facilitate a forum where I talked with four start-up founders who leveraged these lessons to turn their purpose into unicorn success.

All four of these rock-start founders shared how purpose has helped fuel their resilience as founders and entrepreneurs. Setbacks, stressors, failures, and frustrations are all inevitable. What sets Purpose First Entrepreneurs apart is that they dream big. Their fundamental belief that they can change the world for the better inspires them to recognize opportunities. They see something that’s broken and set to work to fix it. They believe that they can achieve the impossible, do the things that no one has done before, and solve problems that seem insurmountable. A foundation of purpose buoys that inherent conviction.

Your purpose could be finding the cure for a devastating disease, but it doesn’t have to be. I point out in the book that every business has the potential to change the world. You could be using your accounting skills to provide services to creative freelancers, which frees them up to devote more time and resources to filling the world with their creativity and inspiration. You could be putting your coding skills to work to develop an app that connects frontline healthcare workers with mental health resources so they can better care for themselves and their patients. Devoting your skills to solving a problem inevitably makes the world a better place.

When you discover your purpose, it propels you forward. Recognizing what you are called to do ignites something in you that drives you to pursue a business, a career, and a life that matters by building on your core values, what I call your Purpose Pillars. In the book, I walk readers through the process of defining for themselves the deeply personal pillars of Honor, Love, Wellness, and Goodness, and I reveal how aligning your business and your life with these fundamental principles ultimately creates the necessary foundation for your personal and professional success.

Once you see the connection between your abilities, your business, and your unique purpose, it fuels you. It gives you the resilience you need to tackle entrepreneurship. It gets you out of bed every day. It helps you dust off after the falls. It brings you a sense of clarity and confidence about who you are and what you do, in spite of any setbacks.

Keep in mind, purpose may be altruistic, but it’s not soft. In fact, when purpose intersects with performance, it drives big results for your business. Finding that intersection is the core of what propels a successful start-up. 

Purpose First Entrepreneurs accomplish big things and empower others to do the same. Whether it’s creating a service that allows their customers to pursue world-changing innovations or creating a company culture that empower their employees to pursue their personal and professional goals, a Purpose First Business fundamentally expands the playing field for other purpose-driven people.

Purpose is not magic. A Purpose First Business is not always perfect; it won’t always run smoothly. Being focused on your purpose won’t fix all of the challenges your business will inevitably face. But it will provide the foundation for overcoming those challenges. It will help you maintain your focus, even when the unexpected pulls you in a thousand different directions. It will remind you to keep going because there’s something huge at stake.

I wanted seasoned and aspiring entrepreneurs to know that the model I describe in Purpose First Entrepreneur is not just an abstract theory I dreamed up. The four entrepreneurs I spoke with during the American Inno forum founded companies that put this model to the test every single day. Godard Abel (Co-founder & CEO, G2), Kristi Ross (Co-founder, Co-CEO & President, tastytrade), Divey Gulati (Co-founder, ShipBob), and Jason VandeBoom (Founder & CEO, ActiveCampaign) shared stories of how they put purpose to work to achieve incredible results. Their successes are proof positive that what I lay out in the book is a model for immense success.

These four founders have used their purpose to drive businesses that are thriving by every standard marker, without ever compromising on the fundamental belief that their businesses can change the world for the better. And they have each helped hundreds of thousands of customers achieve their goals and transform the world as well. You can find a recording of our conversation here, and Purpose First Entrepreneur is available for purchase on Amazon. (Bonus: the Kindle version is less than the cost of a cup of coffee! Bonus X2: the companion Workbook is free!!)

A version of this post originally appeared on Chicago Inno.